The MPA in Joal-Fadiouth was established on November 4th, 2004. The idea of the conservation of the marine resources, and hence the establishment of the MPA, stemmed directly from the local fisherfolk community. Along with the fisherfolk community, the MPA is being co-managed by the the Directorate of Community-Based Marine Protected Areas (DAMCP) which was created in order to support Senegal’s blue growth and biodiversity conservation national strategies.
In 2006, a Management Committee was established and represents all the relevant stakeholder groups that are either directly or indirectly impacted by or involved with the MPA, including fishermen, fish processing women, tourism professionals, or the police. In total, 18 representatives are part of the Management Committee.
The existence of a proper functioning management committee played an essential role in the development of the project. The members of the MPA did not want to only be the hosts of an additional project, piloted by an outside NGO. They wanted to implement the mapping themelves, in order to respond to their management needs. Therefore, their first challenge has been for them to get sufficient technical expertise in order to carry out the activities. The project started with capacity building activities, supported by FIBA Foundation for technical and financial aspects, and by the Regional Network of MPAs (RAMPAO) for designing the mapping exercise.